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Once upon a time, the Arizona State Sun Devils were college football national champions — well, at least could’ve claimed to be.
You can even buy a shirt to prove it.
Five teams in the final 1975 AP Top-20 stood with one loss. One team, however, was undefeated. It was none other than No. 2 Arizona State.
The Sun Devils battled past the likes of Washington, Utah, and TCU, beating the three by an average of 24 points before winning 24-21 over arch-rival Arizona, then racing past then-No. 6 Nebraska, 17-14, to win the 1975 Fiesta Bowl.
It was enough to claim a national championship. Order it here!
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Here’s where it gets tricky: In the final poll, the Oklahoma Sooners finished on top.
The Sooners lost to a 5-and-3 Kansas team in week nine, then avenged that loss with a 14-6 win over then-No. 5 Michigan in the 1975 Orange Bowl.
Oklahoma, the preseason No. 1, shot right back to the top. Arizona State, who was unranked in the preseason, finished No. 2.
Forty-three years later and it still hurts.
But who cares? The 12-and-0 UCF Knights just had a national championship parade. You can buy a shirt, and celebrate perfection too.